Trick of Treat?
by tiggerkiddo
Summary: While Jasmine is away, Ethan offers to watch over her gym and Olivine City in the meantime. Just what could go wrong? A lot actually...


"Oh Amphy…are you feeling any better?" Jasmine asked. The poor Ampharos let out one of the most pathetic cries he had heard. Erika twirled the umbrella on her shoulder.

"That didn't sound good at all if you ask me."

"It's just what I feared. Amphy really needs some care and attention. I'll have to take her to a doctor so she can get treatment."

He smiled. "Wouldn't it be smarter if I took her?"

Jasmine sighed. "Amphy is only comfortable around me, remember?"

He and Wiggler shared an annoyed look. That had to be the one Pokemon that didn't seem to like him very much. "That's all well and good Jasmine but what about your gym? And this lighthouse?"

She looked over at the two of them. "Umm…Ethan?"

"M-me? Run a gym? But I only have one steel Pokemon and—"

"It doesn't have to be a steel based gym while you're in charge. You can make it however you want. And remember Benny? We raised him so he could fill in for Amphy."

Erika shook her head. "Sounds to me like you're telling him to do it. You shouldn't force him to do it."

"I-I-I'm not forcing him…I was just trying to ask and then explain how easy it would be. Kind of…sort of but who else could I turn to?"

Erika shrugged. Hmm running a gym? He always thought having to sit around in a gym for a good portion of the day was as awful as…going to the dentist or sitting in an early morning math class but when she said he could run it the way he wanted…interesting. Still sounded kind of boring but maybe he could find a way to make it less painful? And it would help Jasmine out. "Ethan."

He snapped out of his little daydream and looked over at Erika. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, sort of spaced out there for a moment."

"I was asking you what you thought about it."

"Oh…uh…well…I think it would be interesting. I've never been in charge of a gym before so I think it would be fun…kind of. Just don't expect me to be giving out any badges!"

Her eyes grew wide. "Ahh now Ethan…I know you want to run it your way but don't—"

"Ah ah ah Jasmine. You just said he could run it his way. If he decides he wants to take it seriously and crush any trainers that come along, it's his choice, right?"

"Y-yea but…we don't want to discourage—"

"Ahh but you sort of go easy on them anyway. You never even use your full team unless it's an unofficial battle and they've proven themselves. I'll give them a taste of just what the Elite Four and the Champion can be like!"

Jasmine paled. "Ahh but—"

Erika chuckled. "You might be doing them a favor. Especially since there are still several badges after this one. If they already have an idea what to expect, they'll be better prepared for it."

"Yep! Besides, it'll only be for a few days right? Then Jasmine can come back and it'll go back to normal!"

Jasmine sighed. "Now I'm worried."

Wiggler and him shared an evil look. "Don't be. And I'm sure Benny will do a great job filling in for Amphy, it's what he's trained for."

"N-now Ethan…remember it's not just about running the gym. Since you'll be filling in for me, it means you also need to watch over Olivine and if there is any funny business going on, you need to check it out."

There she goes again, being overly worried and a big naggy. Boy did he hate it when she did that but he knew just the thing to fix that. "Okay."

She nodded. "I mean obviously that isn't any trouble for you but it's something you have to keep in mind."

"Yes dear."

"Sometimes I like to stay at the top of the lighthouse because it's easier to see anything going on out in the bay."

"All right dear."

"Oh and remember to remind Benny that he doesn't have to light a signal during the day."

"Of course dea—"

"S-s-stop saying that! You're making me feel bad!"

"Okay…" he said before stopping himself, knowing he would just say it again. Jasmine looked pretty red in the face, which earned a laugh from Erika and a squeak from Wiggler.

"I wish you all would stop picking on me."

"Man…this feels kind of weird…I'm so used to coming into a gym and challenging a gym leader but it's another thing to be sitting in their position."

Pitch shook himself and let out a suggestion, one that was not appreciated by Wiggler. "No, we aren't going to have this a flying type gym. Besides, Faulkner has that covered for Johto. I'm not going to steal his thunder. I don't even really like flying types—"

Pitch let out a really annoyed chirp at that. "Hey, I don't mean I hate you…I just…don't like bird Pokemon very often."

Wiggler rolled back and forth as he squeaked in amusement but Pitch was having none of that. He took off from his perch and dive-bombed at Wiggler. Wiggler puffed himself up with air, allowing him to bounce the ill-tempered Rufflet away harmlessly. Pitch rolled around in the air for a few before making a u-turn and flying right back at Wiggler. He could only sit back and sigh as the two continued to go at it. Was it really that hard for the two of them to get along? He noticed the door to the gym open and he whistled at the two of them so they could stop.

To his surprise, the visitor…turned out to be a pair of visitors. The current Champion of Johto and his childhood friend Crystal, along with her cousin and the ever so clingy Lyra. "Wow Ethan…I never though of you as a gym leader! I think it really fits you!" Lyra said as her eyes brightened. She looked around. "But this old gym looks so bland and boring…I bet if I spruce it up—"

"But I'm just babysitting. This isn't my gym, it's Jasmine's."

Lyra shrugged. "Okay but level with me here…if this were your gym, wouldn't you let me decorate it? I could work a miracle."

Crystal hopped up onto one of the large boulders that littered the gym and crossed her legs. "Would that miracle include sparkles?"

Lyra smiled. "I could restrain myself."

"Could you?" He asked. Lyra ignored him and began to walk around the gym.

"This whole place could use lighting…and not just plain old white lights. I mean who wants plain old lights? And they should flash…in alternating patterns. And this floor…so bland. I would—"

"I appreciate you bad mouthing this gym."

She looked at him with a surprised look. "But it's just so…bland."

"I kind of like it. It's simple, not too distracting. It's easy on the eyes—"

"How can you say that?!" Lyra asked. Crystal hopped off and laughed.

"Maybe it's because it's Jasmine's gym. You expect him to bash the gym of his cute girlfriend?"

Lyra folded her arms and grumbled. That was always gonna be a sore spot with her. Crystal giggled and looked over at him. "So he's whipped."

"I'm not whipped!"

"You two do argue like an old married couple," she said and he glared at her.

"We don't! We don't even really argue."

Wiggler let out a squeak of disagreement and before he could shut him up, he kept on going. What made it worse is that Pitch joined in as well. "Wow…"

"Crystal, whatever they told you, it isn't true."

She laughed. "I don't know…considering how comfortable the two of you are with each other. Besides whenever I come into town, the people here often tell me about you two like when they caught you trying to feed her—"

"I was bored."

"Or when—"

"Can we talk about something else?" Lyra asked. "Ethan, you should consider becoming a gym leader for real!"

He shook his head. "I'd get bored. It's fun in short bursts or like what I'm doing now but if I had to do it for real, I'd get so bored. I hate being stuck inside a building most of the day, especially when it's sunny outside, I can hear people and Pokemon playing…and it's stuffy in here too."

"It is stuffy, open up a window!" Lyra said. "Stuffy old gem. At least Erika's gym smells nice. You could take a nap in there."

"Erika's gym is okay but it messes with my nose so much…I keep sneezing and I have to go sit outside," he said.

"But if it messes with your nose, why are you there so much?" Lyra asked.

He shrugged as he shot a warning look in Wiggler and Pitch's direction. "Well Erika and Jasmine are close friends so they like to spend time together…and I guess that means I have to tag along."

"You have to? Why not just say no? I mean, we could hang out—"

"Of course he has to Lyra. I'm sure he protests for a bit…if he does."

"I protest about being stuck in that gym…but then they just decide to go for a walk or…go shopping or do something…I usually just decide it's time to leave but they always insist I stick around."

"What kind of relationship do you have?" Lyra yelled.

He shrugged. "We're friends," he said before thinking it over a bit more. "Okay maybe more than friends but why does it matter?"

"You never go shopping with me," she said under her breath. "And I know about clothes."

"You know how to blind people with clothes. And I hate shopping for clothes—"

"You really are whipped! See if you were dating me, you wouldn't be whipped—"

"Actually he would. I'm sorry Ethan but while you're the scourge of Pokemon criminals alive, you're silly putty when it comes to girls. At least we're lucky he's in the company of someone mature enough."

"I'm mature—"

"You wish you were," Crystal said.

Lyra shook her head. "You two are no fun! Ethan…I have just the perfect outfit for you, I think you'll really like it. I promise, there are no sparkles this time!"

He let out a grumble. "I'll believe it when I see it Lyra."

She winked. "No, I promise this time! I even designed an outfit for Silver and Crystal thought it—"

"I didn't say anything about that suit you made for him! Stop trying to put words into my mouth," Crystal said, looking a bit flustered. Ethan and Lyra exchanged a knowing look. How did Crystal know it was a suit? Lyra never mentioned a suit. He smiled.

"Except Lyra just said it was an outfit. That could mean a lot of things."

Lyra giggled. "Yea Crystal…how did you know it was a suit?"

"I-I-I didn't…wait, you said it was a suit!"

"I never said it was a suit, just that it was an outfit. So you did notice!"

Crystal folded her arms and looked away, her cheeks red. "No!"

"You had to admit the colors were nice…and that the small amount of red on the suit matched his hair—"

"I won't! Why would I care about that red headed jerk in the first place?"

Lyra laughed. "Well he's less of a jerk now, he's a lot kinder to his Pokemon and he doesn't go shoving other people around now…or at least that's what Ethan said."

"He has mellowed out," Ethan said.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"If you want to see it," he said. He yawned and leaned up against one of the large boulders. "I swear something happened between the two of you because you really get annoyed when his name comes up."

Crystal blushed even more and Lyra giggled. She turned to him with a broad smile. "Actually, something did happen between the two of them. It was actually at the Radio Tower during—"

Crystal hurried over and grabbed Lyra by the collar, dragging the poor girl outside. He looked over at Wiggler and Pitch and shrugged. "Maybe I'll just have to ask Silver one day."

It wasn't long before a couple of trainers entered the gym. By now, he had taken a perch atop one of the large boulders and looking down, he could see it was a pair of teenagers dressed like…ace trainers? At least that's what he remembered the hardcore trainers liked to call themselves. The guy, who had short brown hair, looked up at him and frowned. "Where's Jasmine?"

"She's gone for the time being so I'll be in charge of the gym until she returns. So you're here to win a badge?"

He shrugged. "Is this still a steel based gym?"

"Didn't you read the note? While I'm in charge, the gym won't be dedicated to a certain type."

"It won't? Why not?"

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Didn't you watch the Pokemon League Tournament?"

The guy shook his head but the blond haired girl spoke up. "I did. Aren't you that guy who always finishes second?"

Before he could speak up, Wiggler did and he wasn't happy about it. Ethan whistled at him to calm down before he turned his attention back to her. "I finished second to Crystal yes but I also defeated a number of Elite Four and Champions from other regions. I may not be a Champion but I'm around that level of skill."

"Is that fair to have a gym leader who is better than the Elite Four?"

He laughed. "Hey, you act like I'm the real gym leader. I'm only here until Jasmine gets back so in the meantime, you get a chance to see what it'd take to get to the level of a Champion!"

"I think you're full of hot air," the guy said. Ethan leveled his eyes at him.

"What's your name?"

"Bradly S—"

"You're just Brad to me. So anyway Brad…are you here to talk or are you here to earn that badge? You look like one of those serious trainers, aren't you?"

Brad took out a Pokeball. "I am. And I'm gonna earn that badge from you. Let's go Typhlosion!" He yelled as he summoned the large fiery badger. It let out a loud roar as it looked up at him. He leaned forward and whistled.

"A fire Pokemon, huh? I got something for that," he said as he took out a Pokeball. He flipped it up into the air, summoning his Ludicolo, Juan to the field. Juan let out a quack in Typhlosion's direction.

"Not bad! Okay Typhlosion—"

Before he could actually finish instructing his Pokemon, Juan pulled out a large pair of bongos and began to pound them with his hands. The beat sounded like something you would hear from a tribe deep in the jungle except Juan really like hitting the hell out of those drums. Brad and Typhlosion looked a bit confused as to what was going on but he knew what was coming next.

They could hear thunder as a small group of rain clouds formed overhead, pouring rain onto the arena. "Wait, how can that work in a building?"

"How can you capture a Wailord in a ball the size of a fist? You don't ask those kind of questions."

"Well we better do something about this rain storm. Typhlosion, change of plans! Use Sunny Day first!"

Juan let out a quack, letting them know that interrupting his song wasn't appreciated. He charged forward like a heat seeking missile and slammed headfirst into Typhlosion's stomach. He sent the larger Pokemon rolling backwards like a ball while Juan stumbled around dazed for a minute…before returning to his drums and continuing his drumming.

"What is that…"

"It's a Ludicolo," Ethan said. Brad shook his head.

"I know what it is but…how did he get so strong?"

"Duh, I train with the Champion on a regular basis. Several of my other training partners are gym leaders…all that training has to go somewhere."

Brad frowned. "Well…Typhlosion, use Aerial Ace!"

"If I were you, I'd be going with a quicker attack," Ethan said. Typhlosion jumped high into the air but Juan was ready for him, spraying him back down to the ground with a well aimed Hydro Cannon. Typhlosion gasped for air before shaking the water off.

"How did it get so quick?"

"It's ability is called Swift Swim, which allows Juan to become twice as fast in the rain. He was already pretty speedy so it makes it even worse."

"No wonder you used Rain Dance—"

Ethan coughed. "Well, actually that's not Rain Dance…it's the sacred Hoehnian Thunder Rain Drum…attack. It's one we made up! It not only summons the rain but every turn he continues to bang out a tune on his drums, all of his stats raise by one."

"H-h-how is that fair?"

Ethan folded his arms. "Well you could always knock away the drums…if he lets you. Remember…this is what a fight with the Champion would be like," he said. Brad grumbled and summoned Typhlosion back.

"Fine…I'll use…Xatu!"

Ethan nodded as Brad summoned the green psychic bird to the field. He had the right idea with bring in a flying Pokemon but…he still had something for him. "Your move."

"Xatu, use Drill Peck!"

Xatu fly high into the air, looping around to gain speed before flying straight at Juan, spinning in the air like a top. Juan looked annoyed that he would have to stop drumming and opened his beak, blasting Xatu with a beam of icy energy. Xatu must have sensed it because it called off its attack to fly out of the way but the beam still hit one of its wings. Xatu was forced to the ground, where it began to peck away at its frozen wing. Juan left his drums and charged at the Xatu, quacking a warning in its direction before leveling him with an electrically charged punch. While the poor Xatu lay sprayed out on the ground, looking dazed, Juan continued to warn him not to interrupt his song before waddling back over to the drums. Do not get between a Ludicolo and his drums.

"Ahh come back Xatu," Brad said as he summoned him back to his ball. He looked down, deep in thought. Ethan looked over at Juan, who glanced back at him but he gave him a look to stay the course.

"So who's next on your team?"

"So your team is…just totally random?"

Ethan nodded. "Yea, pretty much. I have various types and they each have their little tactics and tricks. Trust me the Champion is just like this."

His eyes grew wide. "Are you kidding?"

"I know people got lazy because Lance used to be the Champion and he used mainly dragon Pokemon or dragon like Pokemon but Crystal is different. She likes to use a balanced party."

"I think…I need to rethink some things," he said, looking a bit defeated.

"Rethink some things? Don't tell me you're giving up!"

Brad shrugged. "I don't know…it's just I didn't think it would be so tough. I mean this is just the sixth gem and I thought I was doing good after—"

"Don't even think about giving up! You're thinking of giving up just because you lost to a backup gym leader! Jasmine is whom you should be concerned about. If you want to be a Champion, you don't even have to run into me. I'm not a gym leader, I'm not even part of the Elite Four! I'm just a regular day trainer like you."

"But won't I run into you?"

"Didn't you just hear what I said? You don't. Unless there is another Pokemon League Tournament…then you probably will but otherwise…I don't stand in the way of you becoming a Champion. If you think it's too hard…and it probably is, just come back in a few days. If you want an idea of what you would be up against if you fought her…then here you go!"

Brad folded his arms. "Y-yea, I guess I understand you but I'm pretty much out of Pokemon so I can't fight anymore."

Ethan nodded. "Fair enough. Does your friend want to challenge me as…yea I didn't think so," he said as she shook her head. "Well, until Jasmine returns, Olivine will be under my watch so feel free to come back if you want a rematch."

After the pair left, he looked over at Wiggler and Pitch, who were making fun of the poor guy. "Hey stop it you two!" He said. Wiggler stopped but Pitch continued to chirp away his poor impression of the trainer. Then again, he always had a big…beak. Ethan slumped to the ground and stared up at the ceiling. "Ugh…I don't think I'm cut out for this gym leader stuff. I can't stand the thought of having to lose to trainers so I go all out but since Crystal is the only person on my level…ugh."

Pitch said something and he shot him a look. "What? I wouldn't scare off a bunch of trainers if I became the gym leader! Well…wait, yea maybe so. Ugh…this is dumb! Let's go check on Benny!"

A while back when they had noticed Amphy's perchance for getting sick, he and Erika had suggested to Jasmine that they catch another Mareep to train to help Amphy carry the load. At first Jasmine had been icy to the idea but after a while she warmed up to it. They hadn't agreed much on the name or his methods of training Benny, which resorted to leaving him at the base of Mount Silver and letting him train himself. She had been infuriated at him for it but Benny had loved it and ever since he had first caught him, Benny had always been cool with him. He could even remember the thing that drew him to Benny, how he didn't seem to hang with the other Mareep and preferred to show off by unleashing electric attacks. He was strong willed but respected him to a fault.

As they trekked up the lighthouse, only Wiggler stayed outside of his ball. Benny's habit of spraying the area with electric attacks meant the little bird would have none of it and he really couldn't blame him. By the time they reached the top, he could see the room filled with lightning bolts. Wiggler let out a worried squeak but he just pat him on the head. He knocked on the door and Benny turned his head to see him. Soon as he did, he let out a cheerful cry and stopped his light show. He opened the door and walked over to the Ampharos. He rubbed his head and Benny looked as content as an Ampharos could be. Wiggler waddled over to him and Benny smiled at him as well before looking at Ethan and motioning to him. "Huh, what is it?"

Benny walked over to the edge of the room facing the sea and unleashed a Signal Beam attack, directed at the rocky coves to the west of town. Ethan strained his eyes a bit and then listened to Benny's response. "So you saw a few Team Rocket guys in some boats in that area?" He asked and Benny nodded. Wiggler let out a frustrated squeak and rolled his eyes, a gesture he could only share. "Team Rocket…I guess Archer was lying through his teeth when he said they were done…or maybe it's just some small time thugs this time."

Wiggler let out a question and he almost burst out in laughter. "Wiggler…we can't notify the gym leaders…I am the gym leader of Olivine City…remember? Well at least for now. And until Jasmine gets back, this city and area are under my watch!"

Wiggler shied away, realizing how stupid the question was but he waved it off. He flashed Benny thumbs up. "Good job Benny! You keep doing what you're doing. We'll check it out. If they're up to something, I'm serving up the eviction notice!"

Really, Team Rocket? First Red defeats you single handedly and then between the efforts of Lance, Crystal, Lyra and himself…they had been defeated again. If he were them, he would have retired and gone legit but who was he to question the genius of criminals? The water around that area wasn't very deep but it was rocky and he decided it'd be better to just keep his shoes on but take off his socks. Wiggler wasn't near as happy about waddling around but it was either that or being carried and boy did he hate that! They walked around and over the rocky parts jutting out of the water until they came to one of the caves. He poked his head inside but it was kinda dark to see anything. He reached over and grabbed Wiggler and pulled him in. "Hey, use Psychic to see if you can detect anything."

Wiggler pointed his little arms at his head as a yellow aura formed around his body. Ethan stayed close to the entrance but away from the opening so if someone did come out, they wouldn't try to hide. After a few minutes he looked over at Wiggler who pointed not to the cave they were by but another one a little ways away. He nodded and crept along the cool water, wincing a tad whenever he stepped on some sharp rocks. Maybe he should have went with some boots or something…his shoes were gonna get tore up after this! He neared the entrance to the cave where Wiggler said he detected something and as he got closer, he could hear voices.

"This sounds like the perfect time to smuggle some of this stuff in with that pesky gym leader gone."

"Yea, she usually has this place on lockdown. Do we know who's in charge while she's gone?"

"Uh, I think it's that one pest from New Bark…I think his name is Ethan or something like that."

"Huh, he could be an issue."

"They didn't ask an actual gym leader to watch over Olivine so I'm not sure why you're so worried."

Ethan shot Wiggler an annoyed look. Just because he wasn't a gym leader…didn't mean he was in the dark about what they had to do. Were these guys that stupid?

"So we just store these special Pokeballs here?"

"Yep, apparently they had some sort of plan for them here in Johto but they never told us when it might take place. I guess it's for down the line. We just hide them here and we should be good."

He motioned to Wiggler to guard the entrance while he stepped into the cave. This one happened to have a few flashlights taped to the walls, probably a temporary solution while they went about their business. He cupped his hands over his mouth. "Hey bozos, that worthless substitute gym leader is here!"

"What the—"

"But hey thanks for those words. Now that I know what you guys are up to, I can put a stop to it! So how do you guys want to do this? Come quietly or do you want me to drag you out kicking and screaming?"

He waited for his answer but to his surprise, they didn't answer. Did they think he was joking? Or that he was too scared to go inside, outnumbered by a bunch of goons. "All right, fine! Be that way," he said as he walked back out. He looked over at Wiggler. "Hey, do you think you got an idea of getting them out of the cave…by force?"

Wiggler's eyes lit up as he began to think up some mischief. He waddled over to the entrance. He suddenly pulled out a boom box and held it up. "Oh looks like you guys asked for it! Now you'll have to deal with Wiggler's ultimate attack! Remember, this is the Pokemon who went toe to toe with the Champion's strongest Pokemon!"

There was a pause before one of them spoke up. "What kind of attack? Hyper Beam? Psychic? Earthquake?"

"No, worse than that! It's the dreaded Wigglytuff rap. This is the stuff of horrors. Anyone who hears it will be filled with pain and agony, swearing off all music and begging for the madness to end!"

"Is this some sort of sick joke? You expect us to believe that?"

Wiggler pressed the button on the boom box and set it on dry ground just inside the cave. He attached a little microphone to it and then he started the song. "H-H-H-Here we go! So he's finally here, performing—"

"Okay okay, if you can get him to stop, we'll come out!"

"You better or else you'll hear the rest. I'll give you a couple of minutes. Don't waste my time or else!"

Wiggler shot him an annoyed look at having to stop the song but he waved him off. If they didn't come out like he wanted, nothing would stop the rap from being sung. Sadly for Wiggler, the trio of Team Rocket guys walked out of the cave a minute later. He sat them down and folded his arms. "Glad to see you decided to see things our way. Wiggler, can you make sure they won't be leaving for a bit?"

"Huh?" One of them asked before Wiggler hit them all with a Thunder Wave attack. He had been on the receiving end of one and while it gave you a nice little jolt, the feeling of losing feeling in your limbs for a time was worse. At least unlike Pokemon, it eventually wore off for humans. He winked at them, "Sorry guys but I lied. Just for you…you get to listen to the full Wigglytuff rap!"

"Hey, we did what you—"

"Yea but I hate Team Rocket more than keeping my word. Enjoy!"

"Hey chief, chief"

"H-h-huh?" Ethan asked as he looked up from his bowl of chowder. His sixth bowl to be exact, yet he still felt hungry. He realized it was the cook talking to him and he smiled. "What's up?"

"Had enough? You're really taking this whole gym leader thing seriously. I thought Jasmine had a good appetite but you take the cake!"

Ethan frowned. "Yea but she's much better at this than me."

"Huh, I don't know about that. You've done a pretty good job—"

"Except for the actual gym leader business. There haven't been many trainers coming around to the gym. I think I've scared them all off."

The cook laughed. "What do you expect? Gym leaders don't use their personal team against trainers…if they did, there would be a lot less trainers around."

"I get that but I don't want to use a weaker team of Pokemon I might not be familiar with. I've always had this team and it's crazy to think of using other Pokemon. And I really don't want to lose to a bunch of new trainers!"

"I think gym leaders are more concerned with nurturing other trainers, rather than just stomping their party into the dirt. The other trainers are there to challenge them but gym leaders are more to teach them and prepare them for greater challenges down the road."

He sighed. "Boring! I get what you're saying but what am I going to teach them? Every gym leader sticks to a certain type but I couldn't do that. I was able to succeed not with your regular strategy but of well…doing whatever. Coming up with tricks or new attacks meant to confuse or distract opponents. I'm a terrible teacher!"

"Well not everyone can be a gym leader also."

He laughed. "You got that right," he said as he finished up his bowl. On another note, where was Jasmine? She said she would be back real soon but so far, no dice. At first he had been able to deal with it but it sure was boring without her around. He looked over at Wiggler, who was fast asleep, just as he heard the bell for the door ring. He looked over and saw one of the sailors enter. He noticed him sitting in the booth.

"Yo boss, there is someone waiting for you at the gym! Looks like another trainer…or something."

Or something? What something? Either way, maybe things would get interesting. He tapped Wiggler awake. "Okay, I'll be over there just as soon as I pay up!"

He had been sure that once word had spread that he was in charge of the gym at Olivine, the stream of trainers would stop and it had but why had this trainer shown up? As he walked around the street, he noticed a young brown haired woman standing in front of the gym. She wore a black headband atop her head and had something resembling a Halloween themed outfit, a red and black dress with the edges of it resembling a bat's wing. Her shoes seemed to match her dress and she had on a pair of thigh high black web like stockings to boot. Had Lyra gotten someone to model one of her outfits? She looked over at him and he stopped short. She really reminded him of Jasmine in the face but—"

"Hey, are you the freaking gym leader around here or what?!" She snapped, causing him to snap back to attention. Great, a loudmouth.

"Calm down, I am the gym leader…temporary gym leader—"

"Gym leader is a gym leader."

"Are you here to yell at me? Or are you here to challenge me for the badge?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Why else would I be here? To stare at a dork like you?"

He held Wiggler back from giving her a piece of his mind. "I don't know…I do have my female fans—"

"Look, I've got more important things to do so can we make this quick?"

He smiled. "So you really do want to challenge me for the badge? Not bad but I hope you realize that—"

"Yes, I've heard how you're so strong and all. I want to see for myself!"

If it weren't for her smart aleck attitude, he would say she looked kind of cute. Not as cute as Jasmine but—"Okay…uh what's your name?"

Her eyes grew wide. "You haven't heard of me? You haven't seen me before?"

He and Wiggler shared a confused look. "Nope sorry!"

She looked annoyed. "I'm Tilly…you know…the idol singer? I have many albums and photo books out. A lot of photo books, you're a guy, aren't you?"

"Yes I'm a guy! I don't have any need for photo books! And so what? I'm pretty famous—"

"In your little world I imagine. People remember me for my looks. What do they remember you for? For always being second best?"

He stomped his foot. "That's a low blow—"

"Is it? Have you really won anything?"

He waved her off. "Who cares—"

"Which means you do care but you're trying to make it seem like you don't because it—"

"Look Tilly, I don't have time for this. Either we battle, or I'm going back to eat."

She brushed aside her hair. "Let's battle. And eat? How do you expect to keep a girlfriend with a gut like that?"

"Who's got a gut?! I'm pretty slim—"

"Whatever," she said as she walked over to the door. She was like Silver but at least if Silver was being a jerk, he could punch him. He unlocked the door and pulled it open. She stepped in and he followed. He walked over to the other side of the arena.

"Okay Tilly…"

"You choose your Pokemon first."

He shook his head. "That's not how it goes. Now either summon your Pokemon or stop wasting my time."

She shook her head and let out a sigh. "Fine!" She said as she summoned her first Pokemon, an Emolga. He nodded and reached for the Pokeballs at his belt and one began to shake at once. He knew what that one was, it'd be Pitch. He always loved to be the first one out and he would throw a fit if someone got to go first, even if he had a type disadvantage like now. He shrugged and summoned the feisty Rufflet. She giggled. "Why would you do that? I can just zap him!"

Pitch flew high into the air and dove straight at Emolga. "Wait Pitch, don't do that!" He yelled but of course Pitch wouldn't listen. Tilly giggled but Pitch instead of hitting the electric mouse, used Agility to increase his speed and make little after images of himself, making it tougher to track which one was the real Pitch.

Tilly didn't seem all that worried. "A nice little trick…normally I would be in trouble but…Emolga, use Shockwave!"

Emolga let out a little cry as it gathered its wings in, before unleashing a small wave of electrical energy that spread out from its body. The worst part about it was that it almost never missed and Pitch let out a chirp of pain as it hit. It must have really hurt because he took to the ground to nurse himself. Tilly pointed her finger at him. "Okay, Volt Switch!"

Pitch suddenly flapped his small wings in front of him, stirring up a strong wind, suddenly blowing Emolga away. He nestled down, using Roost to get some of his health back but suddenly her Emolga flew back into the picture and unleashed a Thunderbolt attack on Pitch, nailing him while he was vulnerable. That was enough to knock him out and Wiggler let out a surprised squeak. "Not bad but he was the weakest Pokemon," he said as he summoned Pitch back to his ball. Actually Pitch was pretty hardy but her Pokemon must have been stronger than he expected. "Okay, time for my next Pokemon…Crunk!"

Emolga let out a worried chirp as his large Steelix appeared in the ring. It let out a great roar in Emolga's direction and Tilly sighed. "Come back Emolga!" She said as she summoned him back. She took out another Pokeball, this time summoning Swanna. Smart girl.

Crunk roared as he summoned a group of rocks underneath Swanna. "Swanna, Water Pulse!"

Wait, it could learn that? Swanna flapped its wings in front of it, summoning up a large sphere of water, which it launched in Crunk's direction. It sent him reeling but even worse, it left him looking confused. He began to stumble around like a drunk and suddenly sent the rocks he had summoned…in his direction. Ethan hid behind some of the boulders as he heard the rocks pelt Crunk like harmless pebbles. He poked his head around when the coast was clear…or he thought it was but soon noticed that Crunk was on the ground…knocked out? "Hey, what just happened? I was only—"

"Maybe your Steelix isn't as tough as you thought!"

He actually didn't use Crunk a whole lot. He really kept him around because it had been Jasmine's gift to him and he never had the heart to not have him in the group. "Maybe you're right," he said. Well that was two down already and he still had yet to knock out one of her Pokemon. Who did he have left? There was still Juan, Rai, Aries and Wiggler but both Rai and Aries had lost interest in battling so basically just the other two. "Lucky for you, you get to face Wiggler!"

Wiggler bounced forward and Tilly nodded. "So Mr. Wiggles then."

Wiggler…well he pretty much snapped at the mention of that dreaded nickname and let loose a terribly sounded cry, a painful one that forced him to cover his ears, as did Tilly. Poor Swanna wasn't so lucky, getting taken out by the powerful Hyper Voice attack. As it ended, he uncovered his ears and sighed. "I forgot you had that move and now I remember why I forgot it."

"How awful! I thought Wigglytuff were supposed to be good singers!"

He laughed. "Sounds like you need a taste of the dreaded Wigglytuff Rap! Looks like it's time for an encore—"

"Don't even think about it!" She yelled. "I heard about that stupid attack, it really is evil."

"It is but you're tempting me to use it—"

"Don't you dare," she said as she summoned a different Pokemon, this time it was a Mincinno. "Time for the battle of the cute—"

"Cute nothing!" He said. Wiggler looked a tad confused on what to do but decided to unleash Aura Sphere. Her Mincinno suddenly broke out in song, a calming song that caused Wiggler to fall asleep, in the middle of summoning Aura Sphere. His eyes grew wide as he was awakening in the middle of nodding off, thanks to the sphere of energy exploding in his face. The impact sent him sprawling backwards, rolling over a few times before he stopped him with his foot. Wiggler got to his feet and let out a weakened squeak in Mincinno's direction. He held up his little arms, summoning another Aura Sphere but the Mincinno responded with yet another calming song. He could only slap his forehead as Wiggler nodded off, before eating another one of his own attacks. He understood getting a little annoyed but now he was just letting his anger get the best of him. Usually he was good about it but sometimes, not so much.

"Looks like your Wigglytuff is losing his temper."

Wiggler let out a squeak, defiant to the end but he had seen enough. He held out his Pokeball and summoned him back. The ball rattled in his hand, as Wiggler wasn't happy on being taken out but she had obviously read up or seen enough of his matches to know something. He rubbed his chin. "Heh."

"What's wrong? You don't seem so talkative now! Are you ashamed that you are losing so badly? Especially to a—"

"I think you're a lot tougher than you look…and I took you lightly."

"What, even after I yelled and taunted you…you still didn't take me seriously?"

He smiled. "Of course. Sure you've got a mouth but I still figured I could steamroll you without effort. I've done it before."

"Well who will you use next?"

He laughed. "Actually…I'm kind of impressed. I think you've earned—"

"Ethan! What do I have to do to get you to take me seriously?" Tilly asked. She folded her arms and sighed.

"Uh well…"

"You realize who this is, right? It's me, Jasmine!"

"Ahhh well, I thought it looked like you but I couldn't be for sure so—"

"That's okay. I know you didn't want to be caught checking another girl out," she said. He sat down on one of the large boulders and chuckled.

"Thank goodness you're back…I was getting bored."

She walked over to him with a mischievous look on her face. "Make room."

"Huh but the boulder isn't very big—" He said but she shoved him over a bit to make some room anyway.

She sighed as she grasped his hand. "Actually…I lied to you. I've been in Johto for a few days now."

"You…have? Why would you—"

"Because I wanted to see how Olivine would fare with you here. I was really curious so that's what I did. I've been in town the past few days but you didn't recognize me."

He looked away. "So what did you think?"

"I think you did a wonderful job—"

"Even though I scared off a bunch of trainers?"

Jasmine laughed. "It would be just like you to focus on one thing. Sure you scared off the trainers but…I talked to a few of them and they said that while they were sad that they lost so badly, they figured they just needed to train some more. You didn't scare them off, you just motivated them. A lot of them planned to just take on the other gyms and then swing back around here for a rematch. They appreciated getting a taste of what a fight with the Champion would be like."

He looked at her and she smiled at him. "Oh…really?"

"Of course! And a lot of the townspeople told me they felt just as safe knowing that you were always keeping an eye on the town, making sure nothing bad went down. It was like I never even left…even though I had!"

"Well that's nice to hear. That part of the job was the fun part—"

"Oh, being some sort of guide and teacher was never your strong suit so I'm not surprised. I'm just glad everything went so well."

"Ahh…uhh thanks," he said. "So—"

"And don't worry about Amphy, she's doing fine but she needs the rest so Benny will have to keep up the hard work," she said before looking a bit annoyed. "I just wish he would listen to me."

"Benny is like that. He's particular about who he'll listen to and who he'll ignore."

She reached over and stroked his cheek, causing him to turn away. "Hey, why are you acting like that?"

"I-I'm not used to you being so affectionate," he said. The only thing he could think of her acting like this was she had borrowed one of Erika's love potions…again.

"Well I have to be since you're so clueless about romance. Well I know you said it but…it was really boring without you too. I figured for a few days I'd be fine but it really gets to be pretty bland without you to talk to. I'm surprised I lasted for as long as I did, being in town…even walking by you on occasion but not speaking up. It was sooo annoying."

"Thanks."

"Well…you know, I've got an idea. Let's…close the gym for the day. I want to just go home and relax. I know you would like some time to relax after having to play gym leader."

He laughed. "Yea, being a gym leader is hard work! It's not for me…but if you need me to fill in, I'll always help you out. I guess I better go check on the Day Care center…"

She pulled him close and smiled at him. "I'm not going home alone silly. It's almost Halloween and I already tricked you but now it's time for the treat part."


End file.
